Torn Ligaments of Faith
by PirateFox
Summary: A scene we never got to see and what Amon might've been thinking at the end of "Faith."


**Summary: **A deeper look into a scene we didn't get to see towards the end of the episode "Faith," and then some. Told from Amon's point of view and takes elements from my poem "Many Shades of Green" and my first _WHR _story "It Ends Here."

**xXWarningXx: **Spoilers for any one who has not seen the series. And for maybe a little OOC-ness on Amon's part, I don't know. :/ Oh, and one instance where Amon's conscience uses the F-Bomb (something new for me).

* * *

**Torn Ligaments of Faith**

…_Boom…_

_...Boom…_

_**Boom!**_

That last one had practically cracked his teeth.

Amon gazed up, eyes fractionally wider than usual, as the scaffolding atop the unfinished building collapsed in a quick, stair-like fashion that his mind slowed down to a surreal crawl. Only when the dust began to settle did his brain start functioning normally again and it immediately shot to a stomach-dropping thought…

Oh, shit, his young partner was up there.

His _sick_, young partner was traipsing the unfinished structure that had just fallen apart right above his head.

And not only that, but_ he_ had been the one to send her in there along with Sakaki, who had already called in to inform them he'd been attacked with chloroform. He'd gotten out of it unharmed soley because Robin had stepped in to save him from the rogue surgeons.

Amon suddenly couldn't get the sound of her raspy coughing out of his skull.

***You're a stupid fuck…*** A very peeved conscience gnarled at him as he placed the tips of two fingers and a thumb just slightly to the microphone of his communicator to bring it closer to his lips.

"Karasuma…we've got a problem. I'm going in." He reported in his every day, neutral monotone, but was surprised to discover that deep inside he was wrestling down a squirmy something-or-other that had wanted to waver his voice. He wondered for a second if maybe it might be panic over his ill partner up in the sky before his moving body propelled the idea right out into the wind behind him.

* * *

Awful scenarios were running around his dusty imagination like cackling imps as he tried to piece together what he might be in for once he reached the top. He had not seen her tumbling though the air when the scaffolds broke. Did that mean she was now hanging by her very nails on the verge of slipping into open space? He most certainly hoped not. That would be the _last _thing he would need (to say nothing of want).

As he charged up another flight of unfinished stairwell, he began to think on early events of the day. How he would sneak expertly hidden glances over in her direction every time she would give a horrible hack as if her throat had been having a mucus party. He distinctly remembered having the inclination to send her home, reasoning with himself that she'd be unable to focus on the mission. As soon has he had had the deliberation, however, a strange knot had formed in the pit of his stomach as he envisioned himself working the mission without his quiet, lithe partner by his side.

It had caught him unawares, this little tendril of...what word had he used…_dread_. To put it more accurately, it had been like a smack in the face.

He'd realized in stupefaction that if he _had _sent Robin back to her and Touko's flat to rest, he would have missed her company dearly. And he'd meant "dearly" literally. He could almost hear Zaizen's disappointed speech about not letting his emotions in the way if the older man had ever found out Amon's secret.

Even still, he felt like a total bastard for not letting her off early. This was saying something, considering his forcible distance towards Kate's replacement.

The nomenclature he often disposed on her caused him to twitch.

***You know by now that her name is Robin, right?* **His inner voice inquired pointedly as he continued to barrel up the interminable levels of the building, pushing himself to hurry just a bit more. ***Of course, I do…*** He answered himself plaintively as the bud in his ear began to crackle with an incoming message.

**Amon! Are you there? I've gotten to Sakaki just like you asked. **Karasuma's matronly tone sounded deftly over the link and, as if to confirm her declaration, Sakaki's boyish testimony mumbled in the background. Amon felt some weight come off of his shoulders. He had passed by Haruto ealier, who'd graciously sacrificed wasting Amon's time by telling him to go on and retrieve Robin and that he would be okay, so to hear that the kid was going to get the assistance he needed was a relief.

"Good. See to that he is tended to. I'm still climbing up to rescue Robin and to capture our quarry. We'll see you soon." He replied curtly as he hopped the next set of steps two at a time.

He figured he must have been about half way to the pinnacle of the tower when he met them. Robin led the way with Kirihara in tow, though lagging behind. He was carrying what seemed to be an unconscious Kurosawa on his back.

Amon, skidding to a halt, ignored the prey for the time being and instead let his calculating eyes zero in on the fire starter, letting them swiftly take into account that she didn't seem to be harmed in anyway; other than the matter of her favoring her left elbow.

In fact, when her gaze had in turn settled upon him, she quite abruptly broke into a run, dress flying out all over the place. Before Amon could act out _anything_, she heartily body slammed into him, causing him to stumble backward a tad while simultaneously knocking the wind out of him and taking him aback all the way to last Tuesday. Her hands were immediately clutching on to the lapels of his STN-issued coat and she seemed to be trying to nudge herself as close as she could get to the apparent body heat he offered. Her face actually _burowed _into the collar of his kimono vest.

Amon was in a trance, stunned into a stupor. So amazed was he by the brash action of her tackling embrace, he couldn't even lower his arms - up and out akin to a scarecrow as they were - for a few minutes. Once more, he heard Zaizen berating him like a father would a naughty son for getting too close to the object of their suspicion. He came to a hasty, somewhat nervous conclusion that he should probably remove her from his person and a possible three-feet out of the personal bubble he always had in place when it came to other people.

And yet, he couldn't seem to find it in his hardened heart to dislodge the fifteen-year-old from his shirt front…

While the hunter was attempting to genuinely get over his shock, he subsequently raised his stare to Kirihara, who had stepped in hesitantly on the scene as if it were a private moment between the two partners that he was interrupting. The crow's feet edging the doctor's eyes were forlorn and by one look into them, Amon suddenly knew there was a different story concerning Kurosawa out cold on his colleague's back.

Sniffing back what were obviously tears that he had been trying to keep under wraps, Kirihara gestured his forehead at the young female snuggling against Amon's chest.

"H-her left arm is sprained." He explained raggedly, answering Amon's questioning thoughts on why she had been holding her elbow the way she'd been. "I could ch-check her out, once we go…i-if you want me to." He finished, hefting Kurosawa higher on his spine.

Amon raised an eyebrow, lowering his serious, silver orbs to Robin just below his chin. He gasped minutely when found her eyes closed serenely, concealing the green behind them; breathing soft and even, emitting a tinny, slimy gurgle now-and-then. She had fallen asleep propped up on him, somehow managing not to fall backwards in her dream-state. Amon's flabbergastedness returned in full force at this sight and he grunted in the consternation.

The spectacle was, at most, very confounding. Robin clearly considered him very abrasive, if intimidating, on a good day. To think she instead trusted him all along to just proceed to use him as her temporary pillow.

And to the extreme least, the vision of the feminine juvenile he normally considered little more than a child – a nuisance - sleeping peacefully cuddled in his clothing while he was still_ wearing_ them was –

Dare he think it…?

_**Adorable**_.

Something miraculous was happening to the corners of Amon's lips. They were quirking upward in odd angles without his concession, threatening to crack the aloof mask he had perfected over the years. He could feel the edges of his stern eyes becoming gentle.

Oh, dear-whatever-Lord-he didn't-believe-in, he was _smiling_ at this unexpected, but not wholly unwelcome situation.

***This **_**never**_** leaves the building…*** He mentally told his amused conscience absent-mindedly as he stooped low to tenderly pick up the Craft-User bridal style in his grip, seeing no other way around it. It took him a time to find the back of her knees amidst the black, pilgrim skirt before he gathered her up in the end. Her tiny body was just as light as it appeared to be.

Once he'd gotten her situated to where he was satisfied she'd be cozy, her head heavily resting on the peak of his shoulder, Amon finally trained his narrowed orbs on Kirihara and motioned for the bespeckled man to go ahead of him to leave the area before they drew an outside crowd – namely the police. The doctor nodded solemnly and timidly tried to side-step his dark-haired persecutor.

On his way to the front, Amon snarled at Kirihara from an aforementioned corner of his cruel mouth.

"We'll take them both to the hospital," He ground out, signaling to the girl in his strong purchase and the most-assuredly dead Kurosawa. "But once you're done with them, you're under arrest." He terminated his sentence in a clip, giving the culprit a withering side-glance.

Kirihara balked in his passage, actually finding the courage to face Amon's left cheek with gusto the hunter was sure even _Kirihara _himself didn't know that he had.

"I understand your convictions, sir, but you see… I have a patient – a little girl – that needs an important surgery. I can't just abandon her, despite the fact that I know how much trouble I am in." He paused here, gulping back more tears. "I…I promised Kurosawa…"

Amon now turned fully on to the surgeon, causing the less-sturdy of the two of them to flinch a little at the ice currently lazering him. The hunter was quietly regarding the choices presented. Whether or not to let the doctor stay free for a few more days, so as to go through with his patient's treatment or incarcerate him at this very second?

Why did he find it such a conundrum? Was he that heartless? He flicked a quick peek down at one of Robin's weird pig-tails, then back, nodding in acquiescence.

"Alright, I will discuss it with my co-workers on the way, but no matter how it turns out, we get you after." He rumbled out in his baritone on a deathly serious note. Kirihara only inclined his chin in accordance as he continued on his way to the lead with Amon following soon after with the dozing Robin.

He endeavored to avoid Karasuma and Sakaki's wide, marveling stares that briskly turned into subdued grins of delight as Amon conveyed the fire-user to his car like a blackened ferry across a channel of murky water; waiting patiently as Miho trotted over to open the nearest back door for him. He deposited her as considerately as he could into the seat, adjusting her into a good, languishing position with her arm supported against the door handle before putting on the seat belt for her.

Once he had buckled her in, Amon was just about to back himself out when, through his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of her face… Or what he could see of it behind the curtain of chestnut bangs that ostensibly decided to fall all over it. A few strands had stuck themselves to her dry lips and were fluttering from her silent breaths, somehow making the picture even _more_ charming than was fit to be necessary.

Amon couldn't believe his brain had just used that word in this context.

However, his disbelief did not stop him from committing his next uncharacteristic action. Unable to hinder himself, he raised a gloved hand to softly brush the hair away behind her nearly elf-like ears. The small, guttural sigh she released at his touch managed to snap him out of the weird reverie and he shot a fleeting look over to Karasuma to make sure she was not standing at his rear and had noticed the whole thing, but he'd gotten lucky. She was too busy making sure Kirihara and Kurosawa's body were comfortably in the car themselves and fussing about whether it was feasible for Sakaki to drive his motorcycle after his little stint with the chloroform.

Amon could have breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, he rapidly abstracted from Robin's proximity and slammed the door shut, comparatively furious with his growing weakness when it came to his whippy, reserved partner.

She did not wake up the entire trip to the hospital.

* * *

He had immediately drove her home once she'd been bandaged up and resolutely told her that she could take a few days off to recuperate her ailing internal systems and arm. She'd been perplexed by this and was going to ask the cringing inquiry of why when Amon, trying to recollect what was left of his hard-ass image after the events of tonight, interrupted her with his lame, earlier excuses of lack of focus due to her cold and how her sprain had to heal up a bit. For a moment, Robin seemed about ready to argue, but after honestly mulling over his words, bought the ruse and thanked him. Amon's graceful reply was to sweetly grunt at her before rolling his window up and going on his merry way, leaving her in the dust on the stoop of the apartment complex and the brilliant assurance that he had primordially called Touko to let her know her roommate needed aid into the flat

He'd attempted not to furtively glance into his side mirror to see if the Craft-user was still watching as he sped away.

A week and a half later saw them back at the hospital once more for a check-up on Robin's condition. Her sickness had disappeared days ago, leaving only a few residual coughs and sneezes. And according to the new nurse attending her, her injured arm had improved "quite a bit" as well. Following a prompt exchange over what functions she must perform to take better care of her health, the two of them strolled out side-by-side.

It was gorgeous outside. Everything in the courtyard they were passing seemed to actually glitter in the sunlight and there were people, doctors, visitors, and patients milling about everywhere as they enjoyed the sun's rays on their tired bodies.

Amon glanced extrinsically at his slender and taciturn companion out of the corner of his eye. She had not bothered to mention their intimate session in the construction that night. Indeed, she apparently did not remember anything about it at all. Either that, or she was just being polite as always and was not bringing it up to only help Amon save face in the likes of their other employers after two of them had witnessed his unusual display of affection towards his adolescent partner.

And Amon, of course, was contented to leave it at that.

Although, the memory of her feathery breath against his collarbone was adamant not to leave his mind any time soon…

"So… What have I missed since I've been absent?" Robin's ethereal voice floated pleasantly into his ear canal. Glad for the change of subjects to think on, Amon advanced into all the information she had been without since he'd left her at her front door. She listened patiently, nodding and making small, acknowledged noises to show how well she was understanding it all. Amon was put relatively at ease in this place-and-time, walking in amicable terms with her for what seemed the first time ever.

"It's still not clear when Kurosawa's power first awakened," He illuminated her, close to concluding this relay of the case's material. "But apparently, he used them very effectively to cure quite a number of …" He didn't know why he paused a second time. Maybe he was just reviewing the ensuing fact in his head. Maybe he was only trying to stop himself from making a mistake and identifying the dependants to the wrong surgeon. Maybe it was to be dramatic. Maybe he didn't want the refreshing moment of being on ultimately equal terms with Robin to an end. "…Kirihara's patients." He went on before the quiet went on too long and caused the moment to become awkward.

Robin remained speechless, probably going over his sentences in her head. She rolled her left shoulder, venturing to keep her crimson jacket from falling off where it was draped over the crisp, white sling embedding her maimed arm

"And Kirihara?" She inquired in her ever-present, whispery intonation. Amon came approximately within an inch of giving her a full-blown glare at the thoughtful-edge he was sure he heard in her innocent question and rudimentarily pondered once again what the heck happened on top of the building before everything unerringly came crashing down. She had not yet divulged it to him, if anything _had_. He kept himself in check, though, and aspired to answer her to the fullness of his capacity.

"He's…" Another hesitation – this time wholly uncalled for. With a pang, he realized it might the fourth option after all.

Or perhaps he was just thinking too much.

"In our custody." He said just as they were exiting the hospital proper, his car ahead of them in its parking space.

The relaxed laughter of recovered patients in the courtyard permeated the air at their backs; keeping the void of new silence around them filled with its contentment.

* * *

**A/N**: So, yeah. I love the idea that maybe something like this happened right after Amon calls Karasuma to cut the mission. Plus, I like to imagine what he was thinking at the time and perhaps the secretive panic he might've harbored when the scaffolds collapsed, knowing Robin was up there hunting the Kurosawa while sick.

And I just had to have that ending there when they were walking out of hospital. I don't know why, but it gives me a little thrill when I watch them stalking out side-by-side while he goes over the case with her. It's like a rare moment of peace and comradery between them. And they are the darkest one's there. Everything else is all sunshine and smiles and laughter and they're both just like = -_- It make's me chuckle. Lol!

Although, I still get this nagging feeling that every time I write from Amon's point of view, he is OOC... What do you guys think? :S

So, there you go. Hope you like it.


End file.
